The Lindbergh Legacy

Early on, as the X Prize Foundation started to pull together, Diamandis and Bryon K. Lichtenberg, who was one of the cofounders of the organization, met with Erik Lindbergh. Lichtenberg, a two- time shuttle astronaut, was one of the very first people Diamandis spoke to about the X Prize idea and was his partner in Zero Gravity Corporation.

Diamandis had felt it important to have a connection with the Lindbergh family. But the Lindbergh Foundation wasn’t initially interested because its focus was on supporting projects that empha­sized the balance between technology and a healthy planet. “I think people have sort of lost that dream of space travel after Apollo faded and space flight became routine and boring,” said Lindbergh.

But it was hard for Lindbergh’s passion not to be stirred up by the ideas of Diamandis. “What really got me was the fact that this could ignite that kind of inspiration again,” said Lindbergh. “And there is a tremendous amount of knowledge that we need for space travel that will translate directly into the quality of life here on Earth, such as environmental technology and closed-loop living systems.”

Lichtenberg talked about the view from space aboard Columbia in 1983, where he was the very first Space Shuttle payload specialist, and of his time on Atlantis nine years later. Lindbergh remembered reading about Frank White and his overview perspective of Earth from space, as well as Jim Lovell being able to cover up Earth with his thumb as he looked out the window of his space capsule.

“These astronauts had an overview perspective that could be tremendously valuable in terms of how we navigate the present so that we can thrive and survive into the future,” said Lindbergh. He participated in the unveiling of the X Prize under the St. Louis Arch in 1996, but he would soon be drawn in much deeper.